


we're the shadows far beyond the lights

by grimmfairytalestold, kjae



Series: rhythm of the darkest nights [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: BAMF!Mal, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Don't Have to Know Canon, Dorms, Drunken Shenanigans, Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil as Found Family, Explosions, F/F, F/M, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insanity, King Beast is not a good king, Languages, M/M, Multi, Past Child Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect, Women Being Awesome, a bunch of wishy washy magic stuff, also DRAGONS are important here, belle's practically running the country at this point, don't mess with your local dragons, everyone's a bamf here, flirty thieves, honestly this is my first fic, i also throw canon out the window so that's fun, minor goddess uma & ursula, so i have no clue what i'm doing, the first part of this is going to be pretty angsty guys, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-10 01:14:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14727158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimmfairytalestold/pseuds/grimmfairytalestold, https://archiveofourown.org/users/kjae/pseuds/kjae
Summary: "You know that when I asked what the plan was, I expected something rational," Carlos sighed."Now where's the fun in that,"---------------[In which The Auradon Proposal is one year late. Mal has plans to take over a small country, Evie would like her friends to be rational for once, and Jay and Carlos try to avoid their feelings.]THIS FIC IS GOING ON HIATUS FOR A WHILE SO I CAN RE-WRITE IT





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is my first fanfiction so I hope it isn't a too bad first try. I'll try to warn you that this doesn't stick to canon at all, so if you guys want that you won't find it here. 
> 
> Also, tell me if I left any typos or if anything doesn't make sense in the comments.
> 
> \----  
> edit: my updating schedule will be pretty all over the place but I'll try to update every other Sunday.

_~Prologue~_

The separation from her hoard was excruciating, insanity was the prevailing theme of her condition.  Her mind would be stolen from right under her nose. Maleficent would have been nothing but a slave to her primal urges, a beast in everything but name.

She would sacrifice her child to this cesspool of hatred and hurt, she would never get to see her child grow in her native land. Here her child would be exposed to her insanity and would suffer along with her. She had guessed that her future was to be inevitable. The fairy godmother’s arrogance was somewhat well gained, but the half-blood is not as powerful that she could imprison the most powerful fae of the Unseelie Court, a goddess of the sea, a woman who had sold her soul to the devil, a djinn, a pagan goddess, and several others.

This is to be my prison, she thinks, her mind slowly growing furious. They have dared to assume that they will be the ones to cage her. Insanity envelops her like the riptide Ursula so favors, unrelenting and untamed. The self-named heroes have made to reduce her to an insignificant cautionary tale, nothing but a myth left to wither and rot on this island.

Jafar slowly stands by her side disrupting her thoughts. When she glances at him, he seems to be looking upon their new home. She glares in disdain at the barren land surrounding her, the so-called _Isle of the Lost._

Maleficent looks around at the glistening transparent dome surrounding her. The dome is transparent and reveals the foggy and stormy sky peering down at them. Storm clouds lurk among the clouds, threatening rain and lightning. Surrounding them, the island is mostly a marsh. Soil submerged in murky opaque water. Spindly trees are sparse in their surroundings and there are rivers and streams crisscrossing the land in front of them. Mountains stretch out into the distance, looming with snow-dusted peaks.

The land is meager and in fertile. she can only imagine how crowded the island will be in years to come. This island to be their prison. 

"We will change it," Brunhilde murmured brushing her side, as stepped beside her. "We will make this our home, and scorn them for locking us away out of fear."

"Ah, but of course dear. What else would we do with our time," Jafar said with a wink. "We wouldn't want our darling Queens to get bored would we."

"Do not dare to think that you can condescend me, fool. We have work to do."

"It was meant in good faith," Jafar smarmily smiled.

Cruella growled with impatience, hellhounds barring their teeth at her sides. When they turned back to look at her, she made shooing motions with her arms. “Well, get on with it.”

“I will start the process. You may add extra additions if you must,” Maleficent shouts at the crowd of villains.

“Gan y duwiau yn yr awyr, rydym yn neilltuo ein henwau i ti,” she intones, her eyes going electric green and slit-pupiled. Glowing with unsated feral power. “Gall marwolaeth gymryd ein bywydau, ond rydym yn ei berygl i gyd. Torrwch y ddaear, a rhowch un yn ôl i'r môr. Dechreuaf ar y Morrigan i gwblhau'r dasg hon.”

“Dagli dei, dedichiamo i nostri nomi a te,” Cruella whispers, her hair standing on end, and with her hands free from her ever present gloves.

“Bei den Göttern,” Brunhilde gasps, sparks flaring to life around her. “geben wir dir unsere Namen.”

“Min alalihat , nukris 'asma'ana 'iilyk,” Jafar chanted, his shadow writhing on the ground.

“By the gods in the sky, we devote our names to thy godly grace,” the rest of the villains roared, A thousand auras flaring to life, colorful and blinding. “Death may come for our name, and we shall resist for a single more moment, as to die by your hand.”

“De réir na déithe, caitheann muid ár n-ainm leat, Ursula spoke, her words curling in the air around her like smoke. Her tentacles lashing out, and her eyes glassy as though she had left her body and went somewhere else. “Larraim ar Ea na scoilteanna sa domhan a líonadh le beatha an domhain.”

The earth rumbled beneath their feet, vibration shaking their feet. Hairline cracks begin to appear slowly on the ground, the words of a thousand gods slowly filled the air, chanting slowly. Different pitches spoke in a single language in perfect unison.

The words unhearable but sounding like nature in its rawest form. As in tornadoes ripping their way through the earth, hurricanes brutal and harsh, tearing their way throughout the coasts, a wildfire burning down anything that stands in its path. Something raw and holy, and something that felt entirely like the birth of a star. Burning and beautiful.

Slowly but surely the land tugged their way apart, and the voice died down to a whisper. One island was sinking fast, and several of the voices, the ones that felt like a hurricane howling at being contained in a human form, that felt like an ocean storm snapping a ship in half, fell silent.

As the islands settled in place, a single voice screamed out a word, something that sent shivers down a spine but still incomprehensible to the mortal ear.

“The deed is done,” Maleficent intones with a hoarse voice. “Go, we will speak later about our new prison.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When life give you lemons, squeeze them in life’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to get any hits at all, so getting 423 is a bit of a surprise. Special thanks to grimmfairytalestold because without her help I honestly wouldn't have finished this chapter.
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading. Hopefully my characters aren’t occ, but tell me in the comments if they are.

Flickers of languages pass by her ears, some voices harsh and ruthless. The others sound smooth and persuasive and, to be honest, disgusting. As Mal flies through the air, her fingertips brush the rooftops and her body moves swiftly to get to her destination across the city. Jay is ahead of her, his movements fluid and sleek. He looks like he was made for this, the feeling of weightlessness as you fall. The sheer thrill that sends adrenaline shooting through your spine, and sets your eyes alight with delight. He looks like he belongs to the sky.  


Mal refocuses on the problem at hand, the food crisis. She knows Uma wants Carlos to blow a permanent hole in the barrier, and frankly if the only thing that sea goddess wanted was to fish in the waters surrounding the isle they would say so. But instead they’re silent, and she knows better than anyone that those aren’t good signs. They have to want more than that, and what they want will be out in the open after the meeting. 

Jay’s sudden greeting startles her out of her thoughts, “Yo, princess I thought you said that I get half off.”

“Bitch, that was only if you followed through with the deal we made, and since I’m outta ink, you clearly haven’t paid up,” Claudine Frollo hollers back. 

“Aww, I really wanted a new hat.”

“Focus,” Mal growls the words through her fangs, “I have no fucking clue what Uma wants, they would’ve came out with it unless they knew that we’d have a problem with it.”

“Relax Mal, put away your claws. You guys are co-leaders for a reason, and Kai and Ace are there for a reason too.”

“Ok, ok I’m calm.” Mal mutters, relaxing as her fangs and talons retract.

“Good, cause we’re here,” Jay smirks at Mal as he tugs open the huge, granite doors that lead to the designated meet up site. 

“There you are,” Uma smirks, their features quirking up into a sharp smile, “I was beginning to worry that you wouldn’t show.”

“Sounds like you missed me,” Mal shoots back, her mouth in a smile that resembles a direwolf’s snarl more than anything. 

“ You know I al-”

“It’d be great if we could stop the pissing contest and actually start the meeting,” Ace interrupts, his features twisting into something eerily similar to the late Queen of Hearts. The marks of the stress that came from managing the idiots that populated Savage, the island of the henchman, were clear on his face. His eyes were hard, and the diamond marking under his eye was a dark red. Behind him, Devilshire stands, clad in leather and lurking with her body half in the shadows and half in the light. Her eyes glint in the light, gold masking the iron inside. 

“Alright, let’s get to business. This meeting’s takin’ place cause of the food shortage,” Kai announces, his glacial blue eyes darting from figure to figure. Furs sit heavy on the shaman’s shoulders. His curly hair is sticking out and the dark blue shaman runes stand out from where they are marked under his eyes. Beside him sits his second and both of their direwolves. Their direwolves are white, with one of them having a splash of red across the front resembling blood. “We can’t grow anything on the isle so most of our food has to come from Auradon. That food is shit, cause everyone knows that the famed  _ heroes  _ generosity only goes so far. And shit man, we also know that there’s a difference between fish and  _ fish,  _ and the former’s running out. So, what’s our plan. I need answers here.”

Mal’s eyes narrow and study the slightly stiff posture that Uma’s sporting. Their eyes are calculating and sharp, and she knows from personal experience that they only sharpen that way when they get hold of an idea that they can’t shake. Now, it’s pretty clear that they’re going to clear the air.

“I made my plans pretty clear ‘bout what I think the ideal solution for the food crisis is, but I think I’m gonna need to clarify,” Uma studies Mal criticality. “Fishing outside Auradon’s borders is a pretty good plan, but that won’t sustain us. If we’re going through with blowing a hole in the barrier, we should raid the coasts of Auradon.”

“What the fuck!” Mal yells. “You know more than anybody here that secrecy is godammed important. If they realize that we can use magic inside the border and have found a way to break the fucking barrier, they’re going to strengthen the barrier and we’ll be as good as useless.” 

“And that’s why we need to fucking do it in the first place,” Uma shouts back, “We can take them by surprise, demand trading, and, most importantly, get off the damned isle.” 

Devilshire steps between the two leaders and frowns, ”This isn’t helping anybody, argue like reasonable people.”

“My second is right,” Ace turns to look at Mal with something like anger lurking in his eyes, “I’m putting my lot in with Uma, she’s right. Auradon has torn us down enough, and we shouldn’t lie down and fucking take it.” 

Kaj interrupts sharply, “You forget that we have reason to be afraid of what they’ll do when we announce ourselves. My people are practically wiped out. The only reason we survived so long was because we went rogue and sought the protection of the direwolves. The heroes then took it upon themselves to lock us up on the Isle for daring to seek the protection of such  _ dangerous creatures _ .”

“So it’s half and half.” Harry sharpens his hook as he draws out his answer. 

“Everything's out in the open now, so if you’re for continuing this meeting later say aye.” Mal looks around the room, her sharp eyes resting slightly on each of the people in the room. “All in favor?” 

A rounding aye is heard across the meeting hall. The acoustics of the room make it echo around the room oddly as one by one they leave the meeting room. Kai and Basil, Kai’s second, leave with their life-bonding direwolves at their sides.  Basil paints a rune in the air and the air surrounding him and Kai starts to blur. They leave in a flash, Basil’s eyes flicking once to Mal’s own before they left. Uma jumps in the air with a running start, their human skin falling off and her divinity coming easily. The octopus tentacles twirling together and increasing her momentum. Harry is held securely in a princess carry in their arms. Ace and Devilshire leave dropping through one of the Cheshire Cat’s signature portals, the view of the skyscrapers that make up Savage visible. Mal watches them all leave before following Jay on the way home. 

  


\------

When they arrive at the warehouse, Evie is sitting there on the bench, looking less put together than she usually maintains for fear of appearing anything less than perfect in front of her mother. There’s a barely visible smear of something dark and chalky. Her hair is bound behind her in a messy bun. Mal watches as the collar of the loose patchwork poncho that covers her slips down her shoulder. A large ladle rests in Evie’s hand and she’s muttering under her breath. Mal doesn’t even notice that she’s staring until Jay nudges her arm. When she turns to look at him, his mouth is quirked in a smile and he looks knowingly at Evo. In return, she punches his arm and looks pointedly at the figure resting beside Evie. Jay looks embarrassed, a slight flush spreading across his face before he loudly exclaims his presence before jumping down from the window and yelling, “We’re home honey.”

Mal rolls her eyes but lets him be with the obvious deflection. He can tease her as much as he wants, he’s been pining after Carlos far before she started liking Evie. Jay’s not fooling anybody, even Claudia picked up on it, and she’s about as relationship savvy as a rock. Mal on the other hand is much better at hiding it. No one has even caught onto her yet. Well, except for Uma. Her ex knows her pretty well even after their breakup. Focusing back on Jay as he makes his way down from the ceiling. He clings to the boardwalk for a moment before swinging down and landing in a crouch. Carlos is sitting right in front of Jay. The former’s overalls are oil-stained and one of the straps holding it up is falling to the side. Cigarette burns are clearly visible on the skin exposed. Jay sees it right away and a flash of dark anger passes across his face before it’s masked by an expression that Mal would be fooled by if she didn’t see the anger before. Carlos’s attention on the other hand is fixed on his journal, scribbling in it with the fervor of a mad scientist. His freckles are visible through various oil stains and sitting next to him are two machines. One looks like a  radio that had an angry monkey tear through it, wires sticking out of it, dented metal scarred with multiple gouges, and graced with chipping paint. The other machine is less recognizable, and honestly, to Mal, it looks more like a steam engine than anything else. The thick smoke rising out of it marks it as one of the machines that Mal tends to avoid at all costs. 

While she was distracted by the machines, Jay and Carlos have started whispering to each other in hushed voices. The curious part of her wants to know what they’re talking about but… Evie’s way more interesting than whatever Jay and Carlos are cooking up. Without a further thought, she jumps down to the boardwalk and lands next to Evie, body tensing to absorb the impact before relaxing. Well, she relaxes before smelling whatever Evie concocted inside the giant cauldron resting in front of her. The  rusted brim is coated heavily in the leftovers of a sticky, putrid smelling substance. 

“So,” Evie perks up at the sight of Mal, something that makes Mal’s heart beat slightly faster, “What happened at the meeting? I haven’t seen you this tense since Maleficent last lost control of herself.”

Jay pipes up from where he has progressed into laying slightly in Carlos’s lap, and not noticing Carlos’s burning ears, “It went to shit. Uma proposed one of her more crazy ideas and Mal exploded. Kai is on Mal’s side, but Ace is on Uma’s. The stress of taking care of Savage is getting to him.” 

“Way to be blunt, Jay,” Mal shoots back, ignoring the affronted noise and the comment about what a hypocrite she is, “Remember when you blew a hole into the barrier last week.” Carlos makes an confirming noise at this. “Well, Uma got plenty of ideas from that,” she says continuing her explanation, “She wants to blow a permanent hole in the barrier near the reefs that she claimed. Then, her plan is to fish the oceans surrounding them, which isn’t a bad idea. I would’ve said yes to that.” 

“She wants to get revenge on Auradon right?” Carlos ducks his head a bit when they all turn to look at him. “Why are you looking at me like that? It makes the most sense, right?”

“Yeah, Carlos’s right.” Jay at this point is completely lying in Carlos’s lap.

“Uma wants to raid Auradon’s coasts, so that we’ll have revenge and more resources.”

“Her idea isn’t that bad though,” Evie looks at Mal questionably, “You usually wouldn’t be against this.”

“She wants to expose us, and Maleficent is still nuts. On top of that, Mal’s still scared she might try to kill everything in sight. So, getting her a way off the isle isn’t the greatest idea.”

“Shut the hell up, Jay. My mother’s not insane, and I’m not afraid of her or what she can do.”

“Her plan won’t work anyway,” Carlos glances up from where his eyes were firmly fixed on the steam engine beside him. 

“Why not?”

An unintelligible mumble was the only response that Evie got. 

“Speak up.”

“Because the explosion wasn’t planned, I’ve got no clue how it happened.” His voice is loud at first but slowly quiets down. “The thing that created it was supposed to be a steam engine for the spa in the market.” 

“What the hell, man? Why didn’t you tell me about this?” Jay says from his place in Carlos’s lap. Carlos’s only response is too soft to reach her ears in this form. But as she can see, Jay hears it clearly by the twisted expression on his face. He spits out something almost unrecognizable, flips onto his stomach and burrows deeper into Carlos’s lap, missing the red hot blush that crosses Carlos’s face.

“So, if Carlos manages to reverse-engineer it, you would go through with the plan with blowing up the barrier?” Evie asks, her voice shaky from hiding the laughter that almost erupted. The way Carlos’s face turned into a tomato mixed with the way Jay was completely oblivious to it was hilarious. Mal was barely managing to keep her snickers contained, she looked up once and caught sight of Carlos’s bewildered face before lapsing into silent wheezing.

“Yup, that’s the plan,” Jay says.

Carlos grinned down at the teenager in his lap before he took a look at his watch. “Oh shit, Cruella’s gonna be home soon. I have to go.” He jumps up dislodging Jay from his lap, who gives out a fake groan. Carlos grabs his satchel and stuffs the machines next to him inside the scratchy interior. His overall strap slips down with the motion showcasing the small round burn marks again. Jay’s face goes dark again, but before he can speak Mal breaks in. 

“Are you sure?,” her voice is harsh, she knows it is, but she can’t bring herself to soften it. There’s something sharp within her that surfaces whenever she sees Carlos with a limp and raw pink hands, or Jay wincing whenever he moves his back, or Evie staring down at her reflection in the mirror. She’s not meant for soft things, and  she can’t bring herself to be someone who can. So, her question is harsh, and uncompromising. That’s the way she is and that’s not changing. 

“Yeah, I’m sure,” his voice however is soft, Mal guesses that he knows that she’s worried. “I’ll be fine.”

“Alrighty then, who wants a ride on the Jay express.” Jay grins, but his eyes are still sharp and hard.

“Nah, I’m good. Mother wants me to finish the cleaning before she gets home.” 

“Okay.”

They watch as he limps out of the warehouse, his leg trailing slightly behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I made any typos or if you liked it in the comments!


End file.
